Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and then line it with parchment or wax paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and ¾ cup sugar with an electric mixer, several minutes, until it gets light and fluffy.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the lemon zest.
Add the eggs, one at a time along with a tablespoon of flour mixture for each, allowing each egg to be fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next.
Gently mix in the remaining flour, just until blended. And then stir in the lemon juice. (Don't over mix as it will toughen the cake.)
Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the pan and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Gently remove the cake from the pan and cut into 12 slices.
Recipe Notes
Additions & Variations
To turn this into an old-fashioned seed cake add a couple of teaspoons of caraway to the cake batter. For a lemon poppyseed cake, add the juice of another half lemon and a tablespoon or two of poppyseeds.12*SmartPoints (Green plan)12*SmartPoints (Blue plan)12*SmartPoints (Purple plan)8*PointsPlus (Old plan)Click here to see your WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site.
Nutrition Facts
Nigella's Mother-In-Law's Madeira Cake Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 /12th of recipe)
Calories 272Calories from Fat 151
% Daily Value*
Fat 16.8g26%
Carbohydrates 27.4g9%
Fiber 0.5g2%
Protein 3.7g7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.